NBA PLAYOFFS ROUNDUP | Thursday's games

Nets 96, Pacers 90
INDIANAPOLIS -- Richard Jefferson scored 30 points and New Jersey overcame Anthony Johnson's 40-point effort to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals. Vince Carter added 24 for the Nets, who won the best-of-seven series 4-2, while Jason Kidd had eight points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds. Jermaine O'Neal scored 21 points for the Pacers, who played without Peja Stojakovic for the fourth time in the series because of a sore right knee. The team's second-leading scorer in the regular season, Stojakovic played in Indiana's only two wins in the series. The third-seeded Nets will play second-seeded Miami, which eliminated Chicago in six games, in the second round. Johnson, a former Net, hit a 3-pointer with 57 seconds left to make it 92-90, and after a miss by Carter, Indiana had a chance to tie. Johnson missed in close and O'Neal got the rebound, but Jefferson blocked his putback. Krstic made two free throws with 14 seconds left.
Heat 113, Bulls 96
CHICAGO -- Shaquille O'Neal had 30 points and 20 rebounds, and Dwyane Wade had 23 points despite a bruised left hip as Miami eliminated Chicago. The second-seeded Heat won the best-of-seven series 4-2 and will meet third-seeded New Jersey in the Eastern Conference semifinals. James Posey scored 18 points for the Heat, while Udonis Haslem added 17 points and 14 rebounds. Chicago's Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon scored 23 and 21 points, respectively, after shooting a combined 6-for-29 in Game 5. Andres Nocioni added 20 points. The Bulls pulled within 97-88 on Gordon's three-point play with 4:58 left, but Haslem converted a three-point play after a miss by Posey at the shot-clock buzzer, and then hit a jumper. A steal and layup by Posey made it a 16-point game. O'Neal punctuated things with a dunk that made it 106-88 with 3:06 left. The Heat were 0-9 in postseason games in Chicago and had lost three previous playoff series against the Bulls.
Associated Press
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.